Notes on a Scorecard - May 18, 1995

Jerry West, who rarely travels with the Lakers, is glad he wasn’t in San Antonio on Tuesday night. . . .

“I would have died,” said the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations, who used to be known as “Mr. Clutch.” “Would have died about three times during that game. It was some game. Unbelievable.” . . .

Nick Van Exel’s shot might not have been seen or heard ‘round the world, but it certainly was in Los Angeles. . . .

There hasn’t been so much basketball interest in our town since, well, last month when UCLA won the NCAA title. . . .

The Lakers have won two more playoff games this year than in the last three years combined. . . .

“There’s a resiliency to this team that’s been remarkable all season,” West said. “At one time, things looked incredible, but then came all the injuries. We got going again. Then there was the slump at the end of the season and everybody wrote us off coming into the playoffs.” . . .

“They play with confidence,” West said. “They have a camaraderie that’s pretty darn good. They’re comfortable with the system.” . . .

What chance is West giving the Sons of Showtime in tonight’s game at the Forum? . . .

“We can beat this team,” West said. “The Spurs have a great team, but it would sure be nice to get to a seventh game.” . . .

*

The road to Omaha, where they haven’t been since 1978, begins tonight for the USC Trojans. . . .

The Southern Division baseball champions open a best-of-three series against Northern Division champion Washington State at Dedeaux Field for the Pacific 10 Conference title. . . .

The Trojans, who are ranked third in one national poll and fourth in another, are a cinch to advance to the NCAA regionals but can qualify automatically by winning the series from the Cougars. . . .

“We’re capable of getting to the College World Series and doing well there,” Coach Mike Gillespie said. . . .

There is a misconception that the Trojan program has slipped during Gillespie’s reign. . . .

In nine years, his teams have posted a 338-211-1 record and advanced to the playoffs seven times. In the previous eight years, USC was 258-238-3 and made only one playoff appearance. . . .

But Trojan fans have long memories, are aware that Rod Dedeaux’s teams won 11 national titles and will be content with nothing less than a spot in the final eight. . . .

“Omaha is always our absolute, priority goal,” said Gillespie, an outfielder on the Trojans’ 1961 championship and 1960 runner-up teams. . . .

USC (39-18) won 14 of its last 15 conference games after being plagued by injuries and getting off to a 3-6 start. . . .

Right fielder Geoff Jenkins and shortstop Gabe Alvarez are ranked among the top 10 pro prospects in the country by Baseball America. . . .

“It’s hard to conceive that there are many other college players better than these two,” Gillespie said. “Jenkins has had a special year from Day 1. Alvarez is an elite shortstop who was slowed by an arm injury and had to be a DH for 15 games.” . . .

The key to the Trojans’ chances in the tournament might be their pitching depth. . . .

They have four reliable starters--left-hander Randy Flores, who will start tonight; Ben Tucker, Brian Cooper and Seth Etherton--and a strong, five-man bullpen led by Jason Garner, who has 14 saves. . . .

“We’re not treating the Washington State series as a tuneup,” Gillespie said. “We prefer to go into the regionals as the conference champion and a No. 1 seed. As well as we’ve been doing, we can still play a tick better.” . . .

UCLA (43-6) will open play in the NCAA softball regionals at South Carolina on Friday. The Bruin women have won four of the last seven titles and are ranked second nationally behind Arizona, which has won the three others. . . .

The men’s NCAA tennis title this week was Stanford’s fifth national championship during the academic year. Only UCLA in 1981-82 and Stanford in 1991-92 had accomplished that feat. The Cardinal’s second-ranked men’s and women’s golf teams and 16th-ranked baseball team will have chances to break the record. . . .

Don’t look for any stories this year about the NHL playoffs being more exciting than the NBA playoffs.